Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Eggplant Curry

Eggplants are in season - and here is something that we LOVE to make with eggplant. Love it, it's so darn good. Curry is one of my favorite things to eat, but it always seems so intimidating to make, but this is easy, so simple. Only thing that is time consuming is making the ghee, and that's not hard at all. Last week we had two small-ish eggplants in our CSA and we added this squash because it has a similar texture, and it turned out great.

So, I have great news that has nothing to do with this curry...I'm going to Bangladesh!! I am being hired to photograph artisans at a fair-trade paper company! We leave November 19th. I'm so happy-can't-control-my-excitement ecstatic! I am so grateful for this opportunity. And I am so happy that Justin gets to go on the trip too.

Heat 1/4 cup of the ghee in a large pot over medium flame, add the onions and sprinkle with the curry powder. Cook and stir for a few minutes until the onions are soft. Add the cashews, shredded coconut, coconut milk, and vegetable broth. Bring up to a simmer and cook for 15 to 20 minutes. In the meantime, prepare the eggplant.

Cut the eggplant into chunks. Heat the remaining 1/4 cup of ghee in a deep skillet or Dutch oven and add the eggplant. Cook and stir until the eggplant gets charred and sticky.

Puree the coconut sauce with a immersion blender, until it’s pretty smooth (I had to use my blender, the hand-held wasn't working that great for me). Pour the sauce over the eggplant and toss in the cinnamon stick and chile. Season with salt, to taste, and simmer for 15 minutes until thick. Give a squeeze of lemon to brighten the flavor, garnish with mint leaves, and serve with steamed basmati rice and/or flat bread.

Woah, awesome!!! I am always looking for ways to use all this eggplant right now!

Blackberry Farm is an exclusive, luxury boutique hotel in East Tennessee. It's KIND OF ridiculous...the cost to stay there BEGINS at $1,500 per night. The "rooms" are all gorgeous little farm houses, and the food and wine is flawless. For activities, guests go horseback riding, canoeing, take cheesemaking classes, etc. My friend is a musician and got invited to play there over labor day, so we all got to stay for free. But the food, yeah...out of control.

oh my gosh. i lived in thailand for 6 months and would order green curry from my compound's cook like every day. it was incredible. and i've never been able to recreate it. tried once but it turned out ridiculous spicy, but this looks totally doable.